The present invention relates in general to the automatic programming of memory preset buttons in a radio receiver, and more specifically to a radio data system (RDS) receiver in which automatic memory programming is done according to a content or format type code of a broadcast station previously associated with each preset button.
Automotive radio receivers typically include preset buttons, usually labeled with numerals 1 through 6, which may be manually set to link to a desired broadcast station. Thus, a user can quickly and easily retune the radio receiver to a favorite station by pressing the preset button.
When a vehicle is driven away from its usual listening area, the manual settings of the preset buttons can become invalid since the intended station may be out of range. An autoset or auto-store function is known which searches for stations with a field strength over a threshold and then stores a station for each preset button either in order of increasing field strength or increasing frequency. While listenable stations may thus be linked to the preset buttons after activating the autoset function while traveling, the user has no way of knowing what kind of station will be stored at any preset.
Radio data systems such as the RDS system in Europe and the radio broadcast data system (RBDS) in the United States transmit auxiliary information with the radio broadcast including a program type code or a program identification code that identifies a content type by which a respective broadcast station is operating (e.g., classical, rock, jazz, news, or even specific network programming). The content type is used by the present invention to assign broadcast stations to preset buttons during an autoset operation in a manner to be consistent with the station formats the user is normally accustomed to find at each preset.